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At least 415 records · Page 23

Approaches to reducing photon dose calculation errors near metal implants

Purpose: Dose calculation errors near metal implants are caused by limitations of the dose calculation algorithm in modeling tissue/metal interface effects as well as density assignment errors caused by imaging artifacts. The purpose of this study was to investigate two strategies for reducing dose calculation errors near metal implants: implementation of metal-based energy deposition kernels in the convolution/superposition (C/S) dose calculation method and use of metal artifact reduction methods for computed tomography (CT) imaging. Methods: Both error reduction strategies were investigated using a simple geometric slab phantom with a rectangular metal insert (composed of titanium or Cerrobend), as well as two anthropomorphic phantoms (one with spinal hardware and one with dental fillings), designed to mimic relevant clinical scenarios. To assess the dosimetric impact of metal kernels, the authors implemented titanium and silver kernels in a commercial collapsed cone C/S algorithm. To assess the impact of CT metal artifact reduction methods, the authors performed dose calculations using baseline imaging techniques (uncorrected 120 kVp imaging) and three commercial metal artifact reduction methods: Philips Healthcare’s O-MAR, GE Healthcare’s monochromatic gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) using dual-energy CT, and GSI with metal artifact reduction software (MARS) applied. For the simple geometric phantom, radiochromic film was used to measure dose upstream and downstream of metal inserts. For the anthropomorphic phantoms, ion chambers and radiochromic film were used to quantify the benefit of the error reduction strategies. Results: Metal kernels did not universally improve accuracy but rather resulted in better accuracy upstream of metal implants and decreased accuracy directly downstream. For the clinical cases (spinal hardware and dental fillings), metal kernels had very little impact on the dose calculation accuracy (<1.0%). Of the commercial CT artifact reduction methods investigated, the authors found that O-MAR was the most consistent method, resulting in either improved dose calculation accuracy (dental case) or little impact on calculation accuracy (spine case). GSI was unsuccessful at reducing the severe artifacts caused by dental fillings and had very little impact on calculation accuracy. GSI with MARS on the other hand gave mixed results, sometimes introducing metal distortion and increasing calculation errors (titanium rectangular implant and titanium spinal hardware) but other times very successfully reducing artifacts (Cerrobend rectangular implant and dental fillings). Conclusions: Though successful at improving dose calculation accuracy upstream of metal implants, metal kernels were not found to substantially improve accuracy for clinical cases. Of the commercial artifact reduction methods investigated, O-MAR was found to be the most consistent candidate for all-purpose CT simulation imaging. The MARS algorithm for GSI should be used with caution for titanium implants, larger implants, and implants located near heterogeneities as it can distort the size and shape of implants and increase calculation errors.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A Highly Resolved Large-Eddy Simulation of a Wind Turbine using an Actuator Line Model with Optimal Body Force Projection

When representing the blade aerodynamics with rotating actuator lines, the computed forces have to be projected back to the CFD flow field as a volumetric body force. That has been done in the past with a geometrically simple uniform three-dimensional Gaussian at each point along the blade. Here, we argue that the body force can be shaped in a way that better predicts the blade local flow field, the blade load distribution, and the formation of the tip/root vortices. In previous work, we have determined the optimal scales of circular and elliptical Gaussian kernels that best reproduce the local flow field in two-dimensions. Lastly, in this work we extend the analysis and applications by considering the full three-dimensional blade to test our hypothesis in a highly resolved Large Eddy Simulation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Vectorization of Random Number Generation and Reproducibility of Concurrent Particle Transport Simulation

Efficient random number generation with high quality statistical properties and exact reproducibility of Monte Carlo simulations are important requirements in many areas of computational science. VecRNG is a package providing pseudo-random number generation (pRNG) in the context of a new library VecMath. This library bundles up several general-purpose mathematical utilities, data structures, and algorithms having both SIMD and SIMT (GPUs) support based on VecCore.~Several state-of-the-art RNG algorithms are implemented as kernels supporting parallel generation of random numbers in scalar, vector, and Cuda workflows. In this report, we will present design considerations, implementation details, and computing performance of parallel pRNG engines on both CPU and GPU. Reproducibility of propagating multiple particles in parallel for HEP event simulation is demonstrated, using GeantV-based examples, for both sequential and fine-grain track-level concurrent simulation wor kflows. Strategies for efficient uses of vectorized pRNG and non-overlapping streams of random number sequences in concurrent computing environments is discussed as well.

Jun, S. Y.↗

Anelastic sensitivity kernels with parsimonious storage for adjoint tomography and full waveform inversion

We introduce a technique to compute exact anelastic sensitivity kernels in the time domain using parsimonious disk storage. The method is based on a reordering of the time loop of time-domain forward/adjoint wave propagation solvers combined with the use of a memory buffer. It avoids instabilities that occur when time-reversing dissipative wave propagation simulations. The total number of required time steps is unchanged compared to usual acoustic or elastic approaches. The cost is reduced by a factor of 4/3 compared to the case in which anelasticity is partially accounted for by accommodating the effects of physical dispersion. We validate our technique by performing a test in which we compare the Kα sensitivity kernel to the exact kernel obtained by saving the entire forward calculation. This benchmark confirms that our approach is also exact. We illustrate the importance of including full attenuation in the calculation of sensitivity kernels by showing significant differences with physical-dispersion-only kernels.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

Application of Quantum Machine Learning to High Energy Physics Analysis at LHC using IBM Quantum Computer Simulators and IBM Quantum Computer Hardware

One of the major objectives of the experimental programs at the LHC is the discovery of new physics. This requires the identification of rare signals in immense backgrounds. Using machine learning algorithms greatly enhances our ability to achieve this objective. With the progress of quantum technologies, quantum machine learning could become a powerful tool for data analysis in high energy physics. In this study, using IBM gate-model quantum computing systems, we employ the quantum variational classifier method and the quantum kernel estimator method in two recent LHC flagship physics analyses: $t\bar{t}H$ (Higgs boson production in association with a top quark pair) and $H\rightarrow\mu\mu$ (Higgs boson decays to two muons). We have obtained early results with 10 qubits on the IBM quantum simulator and the IBM quantum hardware. On the quantum simulator, the quantum machine learning methods perform similarly to classical algorithms such as SVM (support vector machine) and BDT (boosted decision tree), which are often employed in LHC physics analyses. On the quantum hardware, the quantum machine learning methods have shown promising discrimination power, comparable to that on the quantum simulator. This study demonstrates that quantum machine learning has the ability to differentiate between signal and background in realistic physics datasets.

Chan, Jay↗

SU-E-T-214: Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) Based On Passively Scattered Protons and Multi-Leaf Collimation: Prototype TPS and Dosimetry Study

Purpose. Intensity-modulated proton therapy is usually implemented with multi-field optimization of pencil-beam scanning (PBS) proton fields. However, at the view of the experience with photon-IMRT, proton facilities equipped with double-scattering (DS) delivery and multi-leaf collimation (MLC) could produce highly conformal dose distributions (and possibly eliminate the need for patient-specific compensators) with a clever use of their MLC field shaping, provided that an optimal inverse TPS is developed. Methods. A prototype TPS was developed in MATLAB. The dose calculation process was based on a fluence-dose algorithm on an adaptive divergent grid. A database of dose kernels was precalculated in order to allow for fast variations of the field range and modulation during optimization. The inverse planning process was based on the adaptive simulated annealing approach, with direct aperture optimization of the MLC leaves. A dosimetry study was performed on a phantom formed by three concentrical semicylinders separated by 5 mm, of which the inner-most and outer-most were regarded as organs at risk (OARs), and the middle one as the PTV. We chose a concave target (which is not treatable with conventional DS fields) to show the potential of our technique. The optimizer was configured to minimize the mean dose to the OARs while keeping a good coverage of the target. Results. The plan produced by the prototype TPS achieved a conformity index of 1.34, with the mean doses to the OARs below 78% of the prescribed dose. This Result is hardly achievable with traditional conformal DS technique with compensators, and it compares to what can be obtained with PBS. Conclusion. It is certainly feasible to produce IMPT fields with MLC passive scattering fields. With a fully developed treatment planning system, the produced plans can be superior to traditional DS plans in terms of plan conformity and dose to organs at risk.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Angular oversampling with temporally offset layers on multilayer detectors in computed tomography

Purpose: Today’s computed tomography (CT) scanners operate at an increasingly high rotation speed in order to reduce motion artifacts and to fulfill the requirements of dynamic acquisition, e.g., perfusion and cardiac imaging, with lower angular sampling rate as a consequence. In this paper, a simple method for obtaining angular oversampling when using multilayer detectors in continuous rotation CT is presented. Methods: By introducing temporal offsets between the measurement periods of the different layers on a multilayer detector, the angular sampling rate can be increased by a factor equal to the number of layers on the detector. The increased angular sampling rate reduces the risk of producing aliasing artifacts in the image. A simulation of a detector with two layers is performed to prove the concept. Results: The simulation study shows that aliasing artifacts from insufficient angular sampling are reduced by the proposed method. Specifically, when imaging a single point blurred by a 2D Gaussian kernel, the method is shown to reduce the strength of the aliasing artifacts by approximately an order of magnitude. Conclusions: The presented oversampling method is easy to implement in today’s multilayer detectors and has the potential to reduce aliasing artifacts in the reconstructed images.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Noise and error analysis and optimization in particle-based kinetic plasma simulations

In this paper we analyze the noise in macro-particle methods used in plasma physics and fluid dynamics, leading to approaches for minimizing the total error, focusing on electrostatic models in one dimension. We begin by describing kernel density estimation for continuous values of the spatial variable x, expressing the kernel in a form in which its shape and width are represented separately. The covariance matrix of the noise in the density is computed, first for uniform true density. The bandwidth of the covariance matrix C(x,y) is related to the width of the kernel. A feature that stands out is the presence of constant negative terms in the elements of the covariance matrix both on and off-diagonal. These negative correlations are related to the fact that the total number of particles is fixed at each time step; they also lead to the property ∫C(x,y)dy = 0. We investigate the effect of these negative correlations on the electric field computed by Gauss's law, finding that the noise in the electric field is related to a process called the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck bridge, leading to a covariance matrix of the electric field with variance significantly reduced relative to that of a Brownian process. For non-constant density, p(x), still with continuous x, we analyze the total error in the density estimation and discuss it in terms of bias-variance optimization (BVO). For some characteristic length l, determined by the density and its second derivative, and kernel width h, having too few particles within h leads to too much variance; for h that is large relative to l, there is too much smoothing of the density. The optimum between these two limits is found by BVO. For kernels of the same width, it is shown that this optimum (minimum) is weakly sensitive to the kernel shape. Next, we repeat the analysis for x discretized on a grid. In this case the charge deposition rule is determined by a particle shape. An important property to be respected in the discrete system is the exact preservation of total charge on the grid; this property is necessary to ensure that the electric field is equal at both ends, consistent with periodic boundary conditions. We find that if the particle shapes satisfy a partition of unity property, the particle charge deposited on the grid is conserved exactly. Further, if the particle shape is expressed as the convolution of a kernel with another kernel that satisfies the partition of unity, then the particle shape obeys the partition of unity. This property holds for kernels of arbitrary width, including widths that are not integer multiples of the grid spacing. Furthermore, we show results relaxing the approximations used to do BVO optimization analytically, by doing numerical computations of the total error as a function of the kernel width, on a grid in x. The comparison between numerical and analytical results shows good agreement over a range of particle shapes. We discuss the practical implications of our results, including the criteria for design and implementation of computationally efficient particle shapes that take advantage of the developed theory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

StOKeDMD: Streaming Occupation kernel dynamic mode decomposition

Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) has become a common technique for constructing surrogate models for dynamical systems from observed system states. The Occupation Kernel DMD (OKDMD) method proposed in (Rosenfeld et al., 2022) and (Rosenfeld et al., 2024) is a Liouville operator based method that builds surrogate models from system state trajectories. Here, this paper proposes an extension of OKDMD to the case when the system states are observed in a streaming fashion, i.e., only a small fraction of the state trajectory is available at a given time. The developed method, Streaming Occupation Kernel DMD (StOKeDMD), accommodates the streaming data input by leveraging properties of specific choices of kernel functions and occupation kernels. We apply the StoKeDMD method as a compression method for streaming data, analyze the memory complexity, and demonstrate the performance of StoKeDMD in the compression of streaming data generated from a Lorenz system and a fluid flow simulation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Quasilinear model for energetic particle diffusion in radial and velocity space

A quasilinear model for passive energetic particle (EP) turbulent diffusion in radial and velocity space is fitted and tested against nonlinear gyrokinetic tokamak simulations with the GYRO code [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 045001 (2003)]. Off diagonal elements of a symmetric positive definite 2 Multiplication-Sign 2 EP diffusion matrix account for fluxes up radial (energy) gradients driven by energy (radial) gradients of the EP velocity space distribution function. The quasilinear ratio kernel of the model is provided by a simple analytic formula for the EP radial and velocity space EP diffusivity relative to radial thermal ion energy diffusivity at each linear mode of the turbulence driven by the thermal plasma. The TGLF [G. M. Staebler, J. E. Kinsey, and R. E. Waltz, Phys. Plasmas 14, 0055909 (2007); ibid. 15, 0055908 (2008)] tokamak transport model provides the linear mode frequency and growth rates to the kernel as well as the nonlinear spectral weight for each mode.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Determining Wheel-Soil Interaction Loads Using a Meshfree Finite Element Approach Assisting Future Missions with Rover Wheel Design

A wheel experiencing sinkage and slippage events poses a high risk to rover missions as evidenced by recent mobility challenges on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project. Because several factors contribute to wheel sinkage and slippage conditions such as soil composition, large deformation soil behavior, wheel geometry, nonlinear contact forces, terrain irregularity, etc., there are significant benefits to modeling these events to a sufficient degree of complexity. For the purposes of modeling wheel sinkage and slippage at an engineering scale, meshfree finite element approaches enable simulations that capture sufficient detail of wheel-soil interaction while remaining computationally feasible. This study demonstrates some of the large deformation modeling capability of meshfree methods and the realistic solutions obtained by accounting for the soil material properties. A benchmark wheel-soil interaction problem is developed and analyzed using a specific class of meshfree methods called Reproducing Kernel Particle Method (RKPM). The benchmark problem is also analyzed using a commercially available finite element approach with Lagrangian meshing for comparison. RKPM results are comparable to classical pressure-sinkage terramechanics relationships proposed by Bekker-Wong. Pending experimental calibration by future work, the meshfree modeling technique will be a viable simulation tool for trade studies assisting rover wheel design.

Contreras, Michael T.↗

A Data-Driven Nonparametric Approach for Probabilistic Load-Margin Assessment Considering Wind Power Penetration

A modern power system is characterized by an increasing penetration of wind power, which results in large uncertainties in its states. These uncertainties must be quantified properly; otherwise, the system security may be threatened. Facing this challenge, here we propose a cost-effective, data-driven approach to assessing a power system's load margin probabilistically. Using actual wind data, a kernel density estimator is applied to infer the nonparametric wind speed distributions, which are further merged into the framework of a vine copula. The latter enables us to simulate complex multivariate and highly dependent model inputs with a variety of bivariate copulae that precisely represent the tail dependence in the correlated samples. Furthermore, to reduce the prohibitive computational time of traditional Monte-Carlo simulations that process a large amount of samples, we propose to use a nonparametric, Gaussian-process-emulator-based reduced-order model to replace the original complicated continuation power-flow model through a Bayesian-learning framework. To accelerate the convergence rate of this Bayesian algorithm, a truncated polynomial chaos surrogate, which serves as a highly efficient, parametric Bayesian prior, is developed. This emulator allows us to execute the time-consuming continuation power-flow solver at the sampled values with a negligible computational cost. Results of simulations that are performed on several test systems reveal the impressive performance of the proposed method in the probabilistic load-margin assessment.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Preparation of Simulated LBL Defects for Round Robin Experiment

A critical characteristic of the TRISO fuel design is its ability to retain fission products. During reactor operation, the TRISO layers act as barriers to release of fission products not stabilized in the kernel. Each component of the TRISO particle and compact construction plays a unique role in retaining select fission products, and layer performance is often interrelated. The IPyC, SiC, and OPyC layers are barriers to the release of fission product gases such as Kr and Xe. The SiC layer provides the primary barrier to release of metallic fission products not retained in the kernel, as transport across the SiC layer is rate limiting due to the greater permeability of the IPyC and OPyC layers to many metallic fission products. These attributes allow intact TRISO coatings to successfully retain most fission products released from the kernel, with the majority of released fission products during operation being due to defective, damaged, or failed coatings. This dominant release of fission products from compromised particles contributes to the overall source term in reactor; causing safety and maintenance concerns and limiting the lifetime of the fuel. Under these considerations, an understanding of the nature and frequency of compromised particles is an important part of predicting the expected fission product release and ensuring safe and efficient operation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

A kernel machine method for detecting higher order interactions in multimodal datasets: Application to schizophrenia

Technological advances are enabling us to collect multimodal datasets at an increasing depth and resolution while with decreasing labors. Understanding complex interactions among multimodal datasets, however, is challenging. Here in this study, we tested the interaction effect of multimodal datasets using a novel method called the kernel machine for detecting higher order interactions among biologically relevant multimodal data. Using a semiparametric method on a reproducing kernel Hilbert space, we formulated the proposed method as a standard mixed-effects linear model and derived a score-based variance component statistic to test higher order interactions between multimodal datasets. The method was evaluated using extensive numerical simulation and real data from the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium with both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Our method identified 13-triplets that included 6 gene-derived SNPs, 10 ROIs, and 6 gene-specific DNA methylations that are correlated with the changes in hippocampal volume, suggesting that these triplets may be important for explaining schizophrenia-related neurodegeneration. The performance of the proposed method is compared with the following methods: test based on only first and first few principal components followed by multiple regression, and full principal component analysis regression, and the sequence kernel association test. With strong evidence (p-value ≤0.000001), the triplet (MAGI2, CRBLCrus1.L, FBXO28) is a significant biomarker for schizophrenia patients. This novel method can be applicable to the study of other disease processes, where multimodal data analysis is a common task.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Map-Based Noise Simulations for DR6

The increasing statistical power of cosmic microwave background (CMB) datasets requires a commensurate effort in understanding their noise properties. The noise in maps from ground-based instruments is dominated by large-scale correlations, which poses a modeling challenge. This paper develops novel models of the complex noise covariance structure in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Data Release 6 (ACT DR6) maps. We first enumerate the noise properties that arise from the combination of the atmosphere and the ACT scan strategy. We then prescribe a class of Gaussian, map-based noise models, including a new wavelet-based approach that uses directional wavelet kernels for modeling correlated instrumental noise. The models are empirical, whose only inputs are a small number of independent realizations of the same region of sky. We evaluate the performance of these models against the ACT DR6 data by drawing ensembles of noise realizations. Applying these simulations to the ACT DR6 power spectrum pipeline reveals a ≥ 20% excess in the covariance matrix diagonal when compared to an analytic expression that assumes noise properties are uniquely described by their power spectrum. Along with our public code, mnms, this work establishes a necessary element in the science pipelines of both ACT DR6 and future ground-based CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory (SO).

CMBR experiments↗

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: map-based noise simulations for DR6

Abstract The increasing statistical power of cosmic microwave background (CMB) datasets requires a commensurate effort in understanding their noise properties. The noise in maps from ground-based instruments is dominated by large-scale correlations, which poses a modeling challenge. This paper develops novel models of the complex noise covariance structure in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Data Release 6 (ACT DR6) maps. We first enumerate the noise properties that arise from the combination of the atmosphere and the ACT scan strategy. We then prescribe a class of Gaussian, map-based noise models, including a new wavelet-based approach that uses directional wavelet kernels for modeling correlated instrumental noise. The models are empirical, whose only inputs are a small number of independent realizations of the same region of sky. We evaluate the performance of these models against the ACT DR6 data by drawing ensembles of noise realizations. Applying these simulations to the ACT DR6 power spectrum pipeline reveals a ∼ 20% excess in the covariance matrix diagonal when compared to an analytic expression that assumes noise properties are uniquely described by their power spectrum. Along with our public code,mnms, this work establishes a necessary element in the science pipelines of both ACT DR6 and future ground-based CMB experiments such as the Simons Observatory (SO).

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Bonding similarities and differences between Y–Sb–Te and Sc–Sb–Te phase-change memory materials

The scandium (Sc) – alloyed Sb 2 Te 3 phase-change alloy has recently been found to enable ultrafast crystal nucleation due to the formation of Sc-stabilized octahedral motifs in the amorphous phase, rendering cache-type phase-change memory feasible. When yttrium (Y) is added, however, non-octahedral bonding patterns form in the amorphous Sb 2 Te 3 -based network even though Y has a valence electron configuration similar to that of Sc and also forms perfect octahedral bonding environments with tellurium in the YTe crystal. Here we elucidate the origin of this difference between Sc and Y, by carrying out thorough ab initio simulations and orbital-based bonding analyses on amorphous Y–Sb–Te and Sc–Sb–Te compounds. We also demonstrate how the smooth overlap of atomic positions (SOAP) similarity kernel can be used to quantify the structural similarity of local motifs in the amorphous phase with respect to various crystalline yttrium and scandium tellurides, both in the nearest-neighbor shell and beyond. We discover that the bonding contrast of Y- and Sc-centered structural motifs in amorphous Sb 2 Te 3 stems from their parent crystals at high Te concentrations. The larger atomic radius of Y and the weaker charge transfer when bonded with Te is found to allow more Te neighbors and cause a more open bonding environment, leading to higher coordination numbers and non-octahedral environments. We discuss the implications of the different local environments for practical applications in memory devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Kohn–Sham accuracy from orbital-free density functional theory via Δ-machine learning

Here, we present a Δ-machine learning model for obtaining Kohn–Sham accuracy from orbital-free density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In particular, we employ a machine-learned force field (MLFF) scheme based on the kernel method to capture the difference between Kohn–Sham and orbital-free DFT energies/forces. We implement this model in the context of on-the-fly molecular dynamics simulations and study its accuracy, performance, and sensitivity to parameters for representative systems. We find that the formalism not only improves the accuracy of Thomas–Fermi–von Weizsäcker orbital-free energies and forces by more than two orders of magnitude but is also more accurate than MLFFs based solely on Kohn–Sham DFT while being more efficient and less sensitive to model parameters. We apply the framework to study the structure of molten Al 0.88 Si 0.12 , the results suggesting no aggregation of Si atoms, in agreement with a previous Kohn–Sham study performed at an order of magnitude smaller length and time scales.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗